30 Weeks Pregnant – Size of a Large Cabbage

30 Weeks Pregnant!

Well, hello house of 30s…This is your big debut and I sure am feeling it. Everyone responds differently to added weight, and although everyone tells me I’m small, I definitely feel it you guys. Heavy! Can’t get up as easily and bending over is a chore. It’s gxfunny because for the first time this week I realize I can’t see my feet when I stand up straight, and my belly button is starting to bulge out a little. I don’t know why I thought I’d be excused from this phenomenon but nope, it’s happening!

I think I thought I had the deepest belly button I had ever seen but clearly it doesn’t matter! Whether you have an “innie” or “outie”, it will eventually pop, and besides looking weird, it doesn’t hurt aside some sensibility.

I feel like this week things got real! Especially because we actually got to see Baby Sandee’s face!! Yep, we did a 3D/4D scan and saw her cute button nose and heart shaped lips! Even though it looks like a melting clay sculpture I think it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen (obviously it isn’t, but ya know?). It’s like… my body is really making this? Wow…I know she isn’t fully cooked yet but she’s putting on weight, and I can tell she’s getting stronger each day, with each kick, one more unpredictable than the next. Makes me understand why I’m so tired, have trouble breathing when I take the stairs and need to take 5 minute breaks often, even after a shower to “recuperate”. Insanity… But 3+lbs of baby plus however much the rest of the stuff in there (uterus, amniotic fluid, placenta, blablabla…) definitely adds actual burden to the body, but I’m not complaining. It’s a temporary condition that will lead to a lifetime of worry and blessings. I mean, I should be worried about how I will push her out and keeping her alive when she gets here, but my mind will race thinking about daycare to high school and college. Really? Time to slow things down.

Sleeping is a challenge as we’d expect it to be, since anytime I lay down it’s time to samba! Also, I have the craziest dreams! Hello hormones! Winecoach and I are going strong with our birthing classes and I’m learning a lot about coping techniques, positions and labor itself. If you think you don’t need birthing classes, think again. I thought I know “physiologically” all I needed to know about labor, but no. It is so much more involved, and if you want to give birth naturally (yes, unmedicated), it requires preparation, unless that baby slips out so fast you don’t know what is happening. Some women are “lucky” enough to have it that way, but others will labor for at least half a day if not more, so might as well be prepared and get there mentally. It’s not for everyone, and I don’t even know if it is for me, but I’m definitely willing to give it my best shot, whether that sounds naive or not!

Cravings: Orange juice, dulce de leche ice cream….what else…nutella still, maybe more sporadically now but still now gone.

Aversions: No aversions! Yay!

Mood: This was was pretty good compared to last. I feel like I’m cycling between one “bad” emotional week and two “good” less emotional weeks. I also just got over a killer cold this week so couldn’t work out much, but I feel better despite still having the sniffles.

Ultrasound and Baby’s Sex: Like I said, we had our 4D ultrasound done and she has a face!! And hair!! I can hardly believe it. It was just magical to be able to see her little face…Winecoach thinks she looks like me, which means she must have his stubbornness. We shall see, we are so excited to meet her!  Can you see that hair!

Movement and Positioning: She kicks, She kicks! Boy does she kick! She hiccups a lot too. It’s fun to watch my belly move all the time, but it can get pretty uncomfortable too. The past couple of days my back and hips have been hurting quite a lot. I did get a cozy bump which allows me to lie on my belly, every pregnant girl’s dream come true! Click to see the mini VIDEO I created on colorfulpregnancy to visualize how it works!

Weight gain: 27-28 lbs gained in total give and take. My weight will fluctuate between 2-3lbs between morning and evening, which is completely normal for me. Not too worried about it, but it seems to be gradually increasing by 1lb a week.  I feel like my belly is going to explode some days, which means I need to moisturize, moisturize, moisturize! That’s all. Hope you’re doing the same.

Nursery and registry: Thank you to my friends and family, the items for the nursery are arriving daily and cluttering my house, in the BEST of ways!! I will soon share the reason I don’t have a nursery yet, but it is still too early. Meanwhile I will look to my registries on Babies R Us and Buy Buy with the consolidated lists are also on The Bump for guidance on what is still needed after baby showers are done and over with!

Names: Winecoach and I decided not to share the baby’s name for now. It’s a personal choice, aka, Dutch tradition and I am on board with it.

Midwife or OB:Happy with the midwife service, I swear they are the uterus whisperers! Getting more and more excited about visiting the birthing center we have in mind! Can’t wait to share more about that with you all.

Aches and pains: My back and hips have been really hurting. Working on my Bradley Method of natural childbirth and practicing my “positions” do help. These are meant to stretch the necessary body parts to easy child birth and also get the baby in the right position for birth. Practice, practice, practice.

The first 2 on top are a good old fashioned squat! This helps to open up the hips and perineum for proper stretching to prevent tearing or needing to get an episiotomy (yikes!). The Half kneeling is just great for the same, especially when getting tired, and the pelvic tilts on all 4s is great for positioning the baby properly. Get your head in the right place kid!

Also, have been wearing compression socks, stockings and even leggings, like this one from Bioskin.com and you can get 20% off all their compression apparel using the code: “colorful” at checkout. I plan to get some more of their stuff that can be used while pregnant or not! They really provide a great fit and support, and feature a large pocket in the back which makes them perfect to go for a walk or workout at the gym, so check them out!

Sleep: What sleep? Haha….I can sleep, because I’m good at ignoring the kicks, but I get hot, can’t tolerate the body pillow, wake up hourly having to turn or pee, and the dreams…the dreams are something else. So vivid, so crazy! Wow…but I do sleep, some nights better than others of course.

Currently Wearing: Whatever still fits! I have very little to my maternity wardrobe since I can still fit into most of my things. I had to invest in maternity leggings and jeans, and those were a good buy! The dresses still fit, jut are a bit shorter than before for obvious reasons. The only maternity dresses I did get were for the baby shower and maternity photoshoot, and those are from SewTrendy.com! LOVE them and how flow they are. Just watch out for walking in them as they are super long, even for my 6’1 tallness. They are just beautiful though, and I can’t wait to share the maternity photo shoot pictures with you all as soon I get them!

Traveling – Slowing down with traveling as I get bigger. One more flight and that might be it…we shall see. Also staying home is good because it gives me a chance to get organized. There is SO much going on, but I can’t share with you just yet. BIG news are coming, all positive (mostly), but requires some settling down, though and strategy.
Thank you for following my journey! Please leave me comments below with any tips for the upcoming weeks as baby is really growing now and I’m deep into the 3rd trimester; I LOVE to hear about your own experiences with pregnancy, with labor and how you prepared for it, especially if you have any tips on how to achieve a natural birth. I will also start taking tips on the first weeks home with the baby and the things I NEED to know before bringing baby home. Any tips will be much appreciated loves!

I want to thank my friends, family and even some of you beautiful followers, for all the help with the registry and gifts you’ve sent to Baby Sandee! I’m stitll taking suggestions on the best products and “gear” needed to kee a newborn alive and well, so please leave me your comments on anything else that is crucially necessary for baby’s arrival because I AM still clueless. Don’t forget to follow @ColorfulPregnancy on Instagram for my nutrition tips during pregnancy!

Xo, Ana

Count Colors, NOT Calories!
Color your Plate, Color your Life.
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SNAPCHAT: AnaSandee – I will continue to snap and cook so get the recipes in real time before they make it to the blog! I’ll continue sharing more awesome things about the pregnancy and my adventures as I learn them! Videos stay up for 24 hours, so get following there!